I make French press coffee every morning. For years I dumped the grounds straight into the trash. That is roughly a pound of coffee waste every two weeks — into a landfill where it produces methane instead of doing anything useful.

Now my grounds go into a jar under the sink. When the jar fills up, I use them around the house. Here are the ones I actually use regularly, not just the ones that sound good on Pinterest.

1. Deodorize Your Fridge

Dry used grounds in a shallow bowl and place it in the back of the fridge. Coffee grounds absorb odors just like baking soda — and they are free because you were going to throw them away anyway. Replace every two weeks. I keep a small bowl in the fridge door corner.

2. Scrub Stubborn Pots

Wet coffee grounds on a sponge make a gentle abrasive. I use them on pots with baked-on food that the soft side of the sponge cannot handle. They scrub without scratching like steel wool does. Rinse thoroughly afterward or everything tastes faintly of coffee.

3. Plant Fertilizer

Sprinkle used grounds around acid-loving plants: roses, azaleas, blueberries, hydrangeas. The grounds add nitrogen to the soil as they break down. Work them lightly into the top inch of soil — do not just dump them in a thick layer or they will mold.

4. Pest Barrier

Ants and slugs dislike coffee grounds. I spread a thin line around the garden beds in spring. It does not last forever — you need to reapply after rain — but it is a safe, chemical-free deterrent that costs nothing.

5. Hand Deodorizer

After chopping garlic or onions, rub a small handful of damp coffee grounds on your hands, then rinse. The grounds absorb the sulfur compounds that make the smell stick. Works better than lemon juice, in my experience.

6. Compost Accelerator

Coffee grounds are green compost material — high in nitrogen, which feeds the microorganisms that break everything down. Add them to your compost pile along with brown materials like leaves or cardboard. The grounds also attract earthworms, which speed up the process.